Us and them

Journalist Michael D'Antonio presents an in-depth look at the beginning of the Space Age in A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey: 1957 The Space Race Begins. He follows the efforts of German rocket expert Wernher von Braun in the U.S. and of those of the famous, yet anonymous, Soviet Chief Designer (D'Antonio finally names Sergei Korolev in the epilogue, which includes profiles of other major players)....

Kisses and the dreams built on them

Michael D'Antonio's new biography, Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams, is more than a rags-to-riches American success tale. D'Antonio, a Pulitzer Prize-winner for his Newsday work, does an excellent job of using the story of the 19th-century chocolate magnate's life to illustrate how business can be combined with visionary altruism, a welcome...